Jolene
Jolene was the 666th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 423 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 245th with 1,053 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 68 places. More babies were named Jolene in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning modern blend of Jo- and -lene · American English
Say it joh-LEEN /dʒoʊˈlin/
- Rank in 2025
- #666 girls, down 191 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 423girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19741,053 babies
- Total since 1880
- 36,236babies recorded
What does the name Jolene mean?
Jolene is a 20th-century American coinage. Wiktionary explains it as the Jo- that begins names like Joanne, Josephine and Joseph, plus the -lene ending of Helene and Marlene. It belongs to the same family as Charlene and Darlene, built the same way. The name has no older meaning of its own; any meaning comes only through Jo- names such as Joanne ("God is gracious"). US records show it in use as a girls' name from the 1910s.
Jo- (English, “from names such as Joanne, Josephine”)-lene (English, “name ending, as in Marlene, Helene”)
How sure is this? Probable. A coinage from name elements, not a word; 'meaning' is only what the elements suggest.
Related names: Joleen, Jolean, Jolie, Jo.
See also: American names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jolene' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Charlene' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Jolene
The usual nicknames for Jolene are Jo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jolene in the last five years, 7 were named Jo, against 13 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jo · also for Josephine, Josie, Joanna | Traditional | #4,028 | 195 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jolenes go by each one.
Jolene popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 12 since 1974.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #666 | 423 |
| 2020 | #475 | 647 |
| 2010 | #970 | 263 |
| 2000 | #1,294 | 149 |
| 1990 | #793 | 254 |
| 1980 | #337 | 718 |
| 1970 | #512 | 383 |
| 1960 | #427 | 522 |
| 1950 | #431 | 352 |
| 1940 | #508 | 186 |
| 1930 | #1,055 | 49 |
| 1920 | #3,461 | 9 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Jolene, counting every spelling?
Jolene is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #601 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #666 for Jolene on its own. Together these spellings went to 494 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jolene | 423 | #666 | 2,807 |
| Jolyne | 26 | #5,032 | 151 |
| Joleen | 21 | #5,811 | 127 |
| Jolynn | 17 | #6,668 | 117 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jolene?
423 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jolene (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jolene born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jolene.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jolene?
About 32,000 people born in the US named Jolene are alive today, with a median age of 45; half are between 17 and 61. That makes Jolene mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jolene by state
How common Jolene was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Oregon (2.1×), Indiana (1.9×), Ohio (1.8×), Kansas (1.8×), Missouri (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Utah, Alabama, Nebraska.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jolene: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jolene, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jolene · Sibling names for Jolene
Questions about the name Jolene
What does Jolene mean?
Jolene means “modern blend of Jo- and -lene” (American English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Jolene?
Jolene was the 666th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 423 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 245th with 1,053 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 68 places. More babies were named Jolene in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Jolene a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jolene in the US.
Where is Jolene most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jolene was most common in Oregon (0.72 per 1,000 girls), followed by West Virginia and Indiana.